(4) Faith is like the air in your lungs; it will sustain you and keep you afloat if you just relax.

Have you ever watched a seasoned swimmer? Stroke after stroke, he takes what’s in front of him and pushes it behind him, letting it propel him towards his goal. He literally takes what stands between him and his goal, and uses it to get there. Sometimes we despair and say, ‘I’m just keeping my head above water,’ and that’s ok as long as you keep ‘stroking’ and pressing on. It’s when you feel backed into a corner with nowhere to turn, that you’ve got to take hold of the faith God has placed within you and keep moving forward. Jesus said, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.’ (Matthew 11:12 ESV) The word ‘violence’ suggests ferocity, passion, and intensity. You must be relentless and fight your way through, confident that God is on your side—because He is (see Psalm 56:9). The waters you’re in don’t determine your destiny; they either carry you over or take you under. It takes faith to keep going. When you quit, God can do nothing more for you! So today whether you’re doing breaststroke, backstroke, or some other kind of stroke that nobody’s ever heard of—keep pressing on.